Can-filling machine.



F. H. NICKLE.

CAN FILLING MACHINE. APPLlcATlqN map ma. 5, Isla.

1,266,706. Panama May21,191s.

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.ipf- T -INVENTOI? F. H. mem. CAN HLLING'MACHINE.

APPLICAYUN F|L`ED FEB. 5. 19 l3.

Pam-,ed May 21,1918.

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wgww @www mul wlmfssfs www. A oniufy `FRANK H. NICKLE, OF DETROIT,MICHIGAN.

CAN-FILLING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 21, 1918.

Application filed February 5, 1913. Serial No. 746,263.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK H. NICKLE, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Detroit, in the countyof Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented a new and ImprovedCan-Filling Machine, of which the following is a specification. 4

This invention relates to machines for fillv ing cans, cartons and othercontainers with powdered or granulated materials, and its object is toprovide a device which shall be simple in construction, rapid inoperation, and which will prevent the dust of chemicals which are beingplaced in the containers from oating around and thus irritating theeyes, nose and lungs of the operator.

This machine consists in combination with' a hopper and a longitudinallymovable and adjustable measuring chamber beneath the hopper, of a chuteadapted to receive the granular material conveyed from the hopper by themeasuring chamber, of a container holder beneath the chute adapted toreceive the cans, cartons or bags to be illed, together with actuatingmechanism for reciprocating the measuring chamber and for shaking thecontainer holder so as to cause the granular material to pack downquickly. This invention also consists in combination with the mechanismjust enumerated, of a shell or housing extending around the `chute andseparated from the lower end of the same, of a ring of sponge-rubber orsimilar elastic material mounted on the lower edge of this housingagainst which the container may engage, and a pipe leading from saidhous- 111g to convey away the dust rising from the container while beingfilled. It also consists in combination with the mechanism firstdescribed, of an arm pivotally mounted adjacent the hopper above themeasuring device and so positioned, that when the measuring chamber ismoved from the hopper to the position above the spout, this arm willdescend into the measuring chamber and cause the material therein todrop out quickly. It also consists in a machine of the characterdescribed, of resilient means for supporting the containers beingfilled. It also consists in combination with a container, a measuringdevice and a spout as previously described, of a case surrounding thehopper and the measuring chamber, and means whereby-the case may bepivoted for vertical movement land yieldably sustained in the desiredposition. It also consists of an agitator mounted within the hopper of acan filling device, and means for revolving said agitator back andforth. It further c onsists of the various details of construction shownin the accompanying drawings and especially pointed out in the annexedclaims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation and Fig. 2 aside elevation of this improved machine. Fig. 3 is a vertical section onthe line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line 4-4 ofFig. 1.

Similar reference characters refer to like parts throughout the severalviews.

Many of the powdered and granular materials which are sold in sealedcontainers give off a large amount of dust while being packed, whichdust is often very irritating if not poisonous to the operator. It istherefore desirable that these dust particles be collected and preventedfrom floating around in the atmosphere around the filling machines. Ithas also been found that the measuring chambers of can-filling machinesbecome choked because of the arching of the mate-rial within them. It istherefore desirable that means be provided for breaking the arch andforcing the materials out of the measuring chamber. It has further beenfound desirable to shake or jar the containers in order to induce thepowdered or granular materials to settle down hard within them, and ithas been found that this is most easily accomplished when the containersbeing filled are supported by resilient means in such a manner that theyand their supports can be quickly and suddenly shaken.

In the accompanying drawings, a frame is shown having uprights 1, 2 and3, lower side bars 4 and upper side bars 5. These upper bars carrypedestals 6, in which is revolubly mounted a shaft 7. Near the frontends of these' bars 5 are bearings for the shaft 8, on which may besecured a main driving pulley 9. On this shaft 8 is a ratchet wheel 10and a chain wheel 11 which connects to a chain wheel v12 on the shaft 13by means of a chain 14. This shaft 13 is mount ed in bearings on theside bars 5 and carries a pinion 15 that meshes with a gear 16 on theshaft 7.

The material to be packed is received in a hopper 17 mounted in a caseor movable frame 18. The rear end of this case has a Extending outwardlpair of arms 19 which are pivotally mounted on the shaft 7. The frontend of the case has a downwardly extending housing 2O having laterallyextending lugs 21 which rest on the sprin s 22 carried by forwardyextensions 23 o the side bars 54. Bolts 24 extend u-p into the springs22 'and limit the downward movement of the lugs 23 andthe front end ofthe case. The front and rear ends of the case are in the form of gates25, verticall slidable between the guides 26 and 27, as siiown in Figs.1 and 4.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, it will be noticed that the bottom 28 of thecase is provided with upwardly extending longitudinal ribs 29 betweenwhich a measuring chamber is slidable. This device consists of sideplates 30, a top 31, a rear cross plate 32 and a front `cross bar 33,the latter being removably secured to the side plates'30. A rectangularframe or box having a rear plate 34, a front plate 35, a top late 36,and a bottom plate 37, is adjustab y mounted between the front ends ofthe side plates 30 and positioned by a screw 38, as shown in Fig. 4. Bymeans of this screw the distance between the lates 34 and 32, andtherefore the size of the measuring chamber, can be accuratelydetermined.

The measuring chamber is slidable below the bottom of the-hopper-17 andabove the discharge opening 39 in the bottom plate 28 of the case. Inorder to insure a tight joint between the bottom of the hopperand theplates 31 and 36, vertical plates such as the plates 40 may be securedto the lower edges .of the sidesof the hopper, as shown in Fig. 4. fromeach side plate 30 of the measuring evice is an arm 66 having a shoe 41on its outer end slidable on the guide 42 projecting from the bottomplate 28 of the case. Each shoe carries av pin 43,y

between which and the pins 45 carried by the gear wheel 16 and by acrank 46 on the opposite end of theshaft 7, the connecting rods 44extend. To prevent the escape of the dust of the material being filledinto the containers, through the `slots 48 through which the arms 66extend, plates 49 may be mounted on the arms. 66 over these slots.

On one side of the machine, a rack 50 is mounted onv a shoe 41 andmeshes with a Vgear 51 on a .shaft 52 extending across through thehopper and sides of the case. On this shaft 52 is mounted the agitator53, as shown in Fig. 4, so that at each reciprocation of the measuringchamber, this shaft will'be turned back and forth. In order toI causethe material within the measuring device to fall down through thedischarge opening 39, an arm 55 may be pivoted at 56 within the case andhavea weight 57 at its outer end of less width than the measuringchamber. When the chamber is in the position shown in Fig. 4, thisweight 57 will rest l end of the lever 67 and carries a Lacayo@ talner63 is supported, while being filled,

with its upper edge in engagement with the soft packing ring 59. On thisrod 61 is secureda collar 64 which carries a cross pin 65 that isengaged by the forked front end of a lever 67 mounted on the lower sidebar 4 at 68. This lever is normally held up by means of the spring 69supported by an interior cross bar 70, as shown in Fig. 4. Guided inthis cross bar 70 is a rod 72 having an adjustable nut 73 near its lowerend which engages the lever 67, and having its r upper end in engagementwith the ratchet wheel 10. It will be apparent, therefore, that as theratchet wheel 10 revolves, the lever 67, the supporting plate 62 and thecontainer'63 will be severely shaken. While the contalner moves up anddown the packing ring yields and expands to keep the space between thehousing and contamer filled. Extending downwardly from the opening 37 isthe chute 75 whose lower end is spaced from the ring 59.

A rod 76 extends upwardly from the rear yoke. 7 7at lts upper end whichsurrounds a cam 78 on the shaft 7. This yoke carries a roller 79 whichrests on this cam so that when the high portion of the cam engages thisroller, the rear end of the lever 67 will belifted and the front enddepressed su'flciently to disengage the container 63 from the ring 69,so that it may be removed and another put 'in its place.r

A pipe 81 connects to the housing 20, and if desired, a suction fan 82,driven by a belt 83 from any proper `countershaft, may be connected tothis pipe 81 and convey away the powdered substances which pass throughthis pipe 81 by means of the second pipe 84. Another pipe 85 may connectinto the bottom of the case for the purpose'of carrying off suchsubstances as leak through between the hopper, the measuring device andthe bottom of the case, and are scraped back by the rear plate 32 of themeasuring device. If `it is desired to shake or jar the case 18 `so asto pack down the materials passing l that the loose powders thereinsettle down in a very compact manner. The operation of this machine isas follows:

The material in the hopper is kept from caking or arching by means ofthe agitator 53 which is turned by means of the gear wheel 51 andtheqrack 50 which is reciprocated by means of the gear 16 and crank 46.Whenever the measuring chamber is at the rear end of its stroke, thatis, after it has passed somewhat beyond the position shown 1n Fig. 4 thematerial in the hopper will ll it so that at the movement o f thismeasuring device to the left, (Fig. 4), a quantity of powdered orgranular material will be carried forward over the opening 39 in thebottom of the case. At this instant the weight 57, pivoted at 56, willdescend as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, preventing any caking orarching of the material in the measuring chamber while it is over theopening 39. y This causes the material to pass down through the chute orspout 75 with a rush and assists in packing the material in thecontainer 63. If a fan 82 is employed, the air within the container andthe housing 20 will be of less pressure than the surrounding air, whichwill also insure the con tents of the measuring chamber passing down atincreased speed into the container 63. This also prevents the air in thecontainer from passing up through the descending powder. Under normalconditions, when a charge of this kind falls into a container, a puff ofdust rises therefrom, which is sometimes lost and often is veryirritating to the eyes and lungs of the operator. By

" using a fan 82, a pipe 81 and a housing 20,

this puff of dust, and any that may float from the container as it isbeing released, is

prevented from escaping into the workroom but passes through the pipe 81to a proper bin, where it can be recovered. During all of this time, therevolution of the wheel 10 and the action of its teeth on the upper endof the rod 72, causes the plate 62 and the container 63 to shake,insuring tight packing of the material.

In case paper bags or cartons are the containers being filled, the dustcannot' pass through openings between the upper edges thereof and thering 59, because the inrushing air through these openings will preventsuch dust escaping.

When an opening is left between the bottom of the spout 75 and the topof the container 63, dust from the powdered material being lled into thecontainers will collect around the outside of the upper part of thecontainers and be lost, often also acting as irritants to the mucousmembranes of the operators.

It is often desirable to secure a bent plate 87 (Figs. 3 and 4) to thefront of the hopper to form an air pipe through which air may pass fromthe measuring chamber while being filled, which air will often carry upparticles of the materials in the measuring chamber, which particlesafterward fall back into the measuring chamber.

Many changes in the details of construction can be made by those skilledin the art without departing from the spirit of my invention asexpressed in the following claims.

I claim- 1. A. filling machine Vt'zfo'rnprising kannovable containerholder, resilient means tending to force the container holder to thelimit of its movement in one direction, means for moving said holderagainst the action of the resilient means to cause said holder totremble, and other means for moving the holder to the limit of itsmovement in another direction.

2. In a filling machine, a container holder, resilient means for raisingand supporting the holder, means for moving said holder against theaction of said resilient means to cause the holder to tremble, othermeans for lowering the holder.

3. In a lling machine, the combination of a case having a dischargeopening, a hopper supported thereon, a measuring chamber movable withinthe case below the hop per, a spout connected to the case at thedischarge opening, an arm pivotally mounted within the case, and aweight on said arm adapted to ride on the measuring chamber while it isbeing filled from the hopper and to descend into said chamber when overthe discharge opening.

4. In a filling machine, the combination of a movable case having adischarge opening, a hopper supported on the case, a measuring chambermovable within the case below thehopper, an arm mounted on the frame anda weight thereon, said arm being actuated by the movement of the chamberto discharge material therefrom.

5. In a llingmachine, the combination of a casing having a dischargeopening, a hopper supported on the casing, a measuring chamber movablewithin the casing below the hopper, an arm pivotally mounted on thecasing and a we1ght thereon, said arm being actuated by the movement ofthe chamber to discharge material therefrom.

6. In a filling machine, the combination of a case having a dischargeopening, a hopper mounted on said case, a measuring chamber movablewithin the case, means to vibrate the case including a shaft and aratchet wheel on said shaft, an engaging member on the bottom of saidcase resting on said ratchetwheel, a second shaft and supporting meansfor one end of said case pivoted on the said second shaft.

7. In a lling machine, the combination of al case having a dischargeopening in its bottom and slots in its sides, a shaft at one end of saidcase, a hopper mounted on said case, a measuring device slidably mountedin said ycase and having arms extending through the slots in the sidesof the case, cranks on said shaft and connecting rods between the cranksand said arms by means of which the. measuring chamber may be movedbetween the hopper and the discharge opening, a rack on one of saidarms, a shaft extending into said hopper, an agitator on said shaft, anda gear on the shaft in meshwwith said rack whereb the agitator will beturned back and orth as the measuring chamber reciprocates.

8. In a filling machine, the combination of a frame, a container holder,resilient i means for supporting said holder, means for moving'saidholder against the action of said resilient means to cause the containerto tremble, a case having a discharge opening, a measuring chamberwithin the case, a hopper, and means for causing the case to vibratevertically.

9. In a filling machine, the combination of a frame, a container holder,Aresilient means for supporting said holder, means for moving saidholder against the action of said resilient means to .cause the holderto tremble, a case having a discharge opening, a measuring chamberwithin the case, a hopper, and means for causing the case to vibra-te. y

10. In a filling machine, the combination of a container support, acase, a spout leading fromthe case, a housing surrounding the spout andspaced therefrom, means to vibrate the support up and down, and means tocause the case to' vibrate vertically.

11. In a filling machine, the combination of a movable case, a hoppersupported `thereon and having a discharge opening, a

measuring chamber movable `beneath the discharge opening, means toreciprocate the measuring chamber, means to vibrate the case while themeasuring chamber is being reciprocated, said means comprising a shaft,a ratchet wheel on the shaft, an engaging member on the movable caseresting on said amaca of a movable case, a hopper supported thereon andhaving a discharge opening, a measuring chamber reciprocable beneath thedisv charge opening, means to rei'pcate'the measuring chamber, means tovibrate the case while the measuringL chamber is being reciprocated,said means comprising a shaft mounted on a fixed support, a ratchetwheel on the shaft, an engaging member on the case restingon the ratchetwheel, a shaft for supporting theend of the movable case opposlte to theratchet wheel, and means arranged between the movable case and shaftsupport for varying the length of movement given to the movable case bythe ratchet wheel.'

' 13. In a filling machine, the combination of a support, a casingpivoted thereto at one end, a hopper supported on the casing,

a measuring chamber reciprocable beneath the hopper, means toreciprocate the measuring chamber, means to vibrate the casing about itspivot, and means for varying the amount o such vibration.

14. In a filling machine, the combination of a support, a 'casingpivoted thereto at one end, a hopper supported on the casing, ameasuring chamber reciprocable beneath the hopper, means to reciprocatethey measuring chamber, a shaft mounted on the support, ra ratchet wheelthereon, an engaging member on the casing resting on the ratchet wheel,a screw adjustable in respect to the support, a bearing member on thecasing and a spring surrounding the screw and upon which, together withthe screw, the casing is adapted to rest.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

FRANK I-I. NICKLE.

